RDA Chairman faces allegations of concealing an engineer salary paper as nearly 200 engineers leave and strike action continues.
The RDA Chairman appointed by Minister Bimal Rathnayake is facing serious allegations of concealing a key Board paper prepared to restructure engineer salaries at the Road Development Authority.
The Board of Directors paper, reportedly prepared with the concurrence of the Treasury Secretary, was expected to support a Cabinet paper seeking approval to revise the salary scales of RDA engineers.
The issue has now deepened into a major institutional crisis, with nearly 200 engineers said to have left the RDA over the past four years, while a fresh strike has been ongoing since May 11.
The Chairman was also strongly criticized recently during a Sectoral Oversight Committee meeting in Parliament, where he was reportedly unable to provide clear answers regarding the escalating dispute.
The current Chairman is an appointee of Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake.
A serious allegation has now been levelled that the Chairman deliberately withheld the important Board paper needed to move the engineer salary restructuring process forward.
According to reports, he has also avoided trade unions and failed to take meaningful steps to resolve the worsening crisis.
Impact On The Country’s Road Network
The Road Development Authority, which accounts for nearly 30% of Sri Lanka’s capital expenditure, plays a crucial role in building and maintaining the national highway system.
Its work is vital to the country’s economy, as the road network functions like the arterial system of national development.
However, low salaries and alleged irregularities in recruitment have caused a steady outflow of skilled engineers from the RDA during the past four years.
As a result, the authority’s engineering strength, which once stood at nearly 700, has now fallen below 500.
This decline has created serious concern over the RDA’s ability to continue delivering key development and maintenance work.
Engineers Resume Strike Action
The RDA Engineers’ Association has held continuous discussions with successive governments over the past four years in an effort to find a solution to the salary and staffing crisis.
The engineers had temporarily called off trade union action on humanitarian grounds following the recent “dual” disaster situation in the country.
However, due to what they describe as continued silence from the authorities, they resumed their strike on May 11.
As part of the trade union action, engineers have withdrawn completely from development activities that are not mandated under the RDA Act.
They are also boycotting participation in regional and district development committees.
Chairman Criticized In Parliament
The issue was recently raised before a Sectoral Oversight Committee of Parliament, where the current Chairman was questioned over the growing dispute.
Reports indicate that he was unable to give clear answers and remained speechless before the committee.
He was also strongly criticized over what was described as failure and incompetence in handling the matter.
Board Paper Allegedly Concealed
The Chairman’s alleged failure to act has come under sharper scrutiny following claims that he withheld the Board paper prepared to address the engineers’ salary issue.
The RDA Engineers’ Association had met the Treasury Secretary, and after an agreement accepted by the Treasury Secretary, it was decided to forward a paper seeking Cabinet approval to restructure salary scales.
The required Board of Directors paper had also been fully completed.
However, the Chairman allegedly failed to present the paper for approval at the Board meeting held on the 11th.
The engineers claim this amounted to deliberately concealing the document.
Further reports state that when the Engineers’ Association attempted to contact him by phone to inquire about the matter, the Chairman avoided responding.
As a result, the conduct of the Chairman, appointed by Minister Bimal Rathnayake, has now come under severe criticism at a time when the RDA faces one of its most serious internal crises.
